Diamond Production Value Down Last Year

RAPAPORT... Global rough-diamond production fell by value for the second
consecutive year as output declined in the two largest producer countries, according to data the Kimberley Process (KP) released Tuesday.

The total value of rough diamonds extracted in 2016 dropped
11% to $12.4 billion from $13.88 billion the previous year, the figures showed.
And while production volume grew 5% to 134.1 million carats, the average price
slid 15% to $92 per carat.

Global production value had already dropped 4.2% in 2015 —
the first decline in three years.

Russia remained the largest producer in 2016, even as output
slid 16% to $3.58 billion, the data showed. Botswana, which used to hold the
number-one spot until Russia overtook it in 2014, saw production slip 4.7% to
$2.85 billion.

In seven of the top 10 diamond-mining nations, production
value declined for the year. Canada’s output fell 17% to $1.4 billion, and
South Africa’s dropped 10% to $1.25 billion. Value decreased in Angola, Namibia
and Australia as well, but rose in Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of
Congo and Sierra Leone.